|
|
|
|
SAVE THE DATE
MSDC's 2012 Annual Meeting and Reception
On the evening of October 24, 2012, MSDC will hold its Annual Meeting & Reception at the Metropolitan Club of Washington, DC. Current members, and their guests, are welcome to attend the event. Dr. James Cobey will be presiding over the Meeting. Our current President-elect, Dr. Daniel Perlin, will be installed as MSDC President for the 2012-2013 term. Please mark your calendars accordingly. Invitations will follow soon.
If you have any questions, please contact MSDC Offices at (202) 466-1800.
|
August 27, 2012
| Vol. 19, No. 18
|
|
| Upcoming Events | |
MSDC 2012 Annual Meeting & Reception
October 24
Metropolitan Club
Washington, DC
More info to come.
|
2011-2012 Board of Directors
| |
Catherine S. May, MD
At-Large; Chair of the Board
James C. Cobey, MD
President
Daniel I. Perlin, MD
President-Elect
Joseph Gutierrez, MD
Treasurer; AMA Delegation Chair
Reginald Robinson,MD
Secretary; At-Large
Peter E. Lavine, MD
AMA Delegate
J. Desiree Pineda, MD
AMA Alternate-Delegate
Laura L. Tosi, MD
AMA Alternate Delegate
Julian R. Craig, MD
Frederick C. Finelli, MD
John W. Larsen, MD
Barry Lewis, MD, MBA
At-Large
Joan B. Loveland, MD
Carla Sandy, MD
At-Large
Stuart F. Seides, MD
At-Large
K. Edward Shanbacker
Executive Vice President
|
| We're on Facebook! | |
The Medical Society of DC is on Facebook!
|
Contact the MSDC Office
| 1250 23rd Street, NW
Suite 270
Washington, DC 20037
(202) 466-1800 (phone)
(202) 452-1542 (fax)
info@msdc.org
www.msdc.org |
|
|
District News: Preventing burdensome health insurer rules; DC Mental Health Mortality Review
|
 MSDC seeks to prevent burdensome requirements imposed on physicians from Aetna
Aetna recently announced that effective January 1, 2013, practices offering in-office surgical pathology testing must be certified with Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) and one of the following accrediting entities under CLIA:
- College of American Pathologists (CAP)
- American Osteopathic Association/HFAP
- The Joint Commission
Currently, CLIA certification alone satisfies Aetna's requirements for these labs. This policy change will likely place a financial and administrative burden on in-office surgical pathology labs and the attached letter asks Aetna to suspend the policy and justify these changes prior to implementation.
MSDC has joined with other medical and specialty societies to address this issue and prevent this additional burden. Currently, MSDC has addressed these concerns directly with Aetna with the expectation of a response to the issues. MSDC will continue to press these concerns with its Federations partners if necessary in the future.
Consult for the DC Department of Mental Health Mortality Review Committee
The District of Columbia Government, Department of Mental Health, (DMH) is seeking Proposals from licensed Physicians to provide regular consultation to the DMH Mortality Review Committee.
Opening Date: August 21, 2012
Closing Date: September 11, 2012
Closing Time: 2:00 PM EST
To obtain a copy of the Request for Proposals (RFP) please contact Denise J. Wells, Contract Specialist, at:
D.C. Department of Mental Health | Contracts and Procurement Services
609 H Street, NE - 4th Floor
Washington DC 20002
Tel: 202.671-3174| Fax: 202.671-3395
denise.wells@dc.gov or visit our website at www.dmh.dc.gov (click on Business Opportunities)
Please return the completed Proposal to Ms. Denise J. Wells via hand delivery, or U.S Postal Service (Mail) at the address noted below.
Any and all questions pertaining to this RFP must be submitted in writing via E-Mail no later than August 31, 2012 to:
Samuel J. Feinberg, CPPO, CPPB samuel.feinberg@dc.gov
|
| From the AMA: Retaining independence while embracing accountability; RAC audits |
 Retaining independence while embracing accountability
Physicians throughout the country are trying to figure out how to best achieve their professional goals in the changing health care delivery environment. Physician payments are increasingly being structured in a way that incentivizes quality and cost effectiveness over volume, and many place physicians at financial risk. In addition, public reporting of physicians' performance will now be the norm, rather than the exception, with Medicare's expansion of its Physician Compare website in 2013. Will physicians need to be employed by a hospital or a large medical group or health system in order to provide the quality and manage the costs that these payment and reporting systems require and take advantage of the emerging opportunities resulting from health system reform?
Not necessarily. While some physicians may ultimately decide that formal alignment with a large medical group or hospital system is their best option, others are actively working to integrate new care coordination and accountability capabilities into their smaller practices. Indeed, there are a number of avenues that physicians in smaller practices can take that will allow them to retain their independence while also achieving the new capabilities they will need to succeed in this new environment.
CMS activity on RAC audits
CMS activity on RAC audits Following AMA advocacy, CMS has provided Medicaid Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) state-by-state contact information directly to the AMA. This list includes the email addresses and phone numbers of Medicaid RAC Medical Directors and state agency contacts. As more states implement Medicaid RAC programs, this document will be updated. The AMA also compiled a Medicaid RACissue brief, state advocacy roadmap, and final rule summary where more information can be found on the program. CMS has also published an online Provider Compliance Interactive Map to identify state-by-state information for CMS contractors and auditors. These developments come on the heels of the publication of an AMA whitepaper on Medicare & Medicaid Program integrity, which recommended the release of this information.
|
| Medicare News: New Health Care Standards and ICD-10 Delay Finalized |
Friday, August 24, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a final rule that will save time and money for physicians and other health care providers by establishing a unique health plan identifier (HPID). The rule is one of a series of changes required by the Affordable Care Act to cut red tape in the health care system and will save up to $6 billion over ten years.
Currently, when a health care provider bills a health plan, that plan may use a wide range of different identifiers that do not have a standard format. As a result, health care providers run into a number of time-consuming problems, such as misrouting of transactions, rejection of transactions due to insurance identification errors, and difficulty determining patient eligibility. The change announced today will greatly simplify these processes.
The rule also makes final a one-year proposed delay - from Oct. 1, 2013, to Oct. 1, 2014- in the compliance date for use of new codes that classify diseases and health problems. These code sets, known as the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition diagnosis and procedure codes, or ICD-10, will include codes for new procedures and diagnoses that improve the quality of information available for quality improvement and payment purposes.
The rule announced today is the fourth administrative simplification regulation issued by HHS under the health reform law:
- On July 8, 2011, HHS adopted operating rules for two electronic health care transactions to make it easier for health care providers to determine whether a patient is eligible for coverage and the status of a health care claim submitted to a health insurer. The rules will save up to $12 billion over ten years.
- On Jan. 10, 2012, HHS adopted standards for the health care electronic funds transfers (EFT) and remittance advice transaction between health plans and health care providers. The standards will save up to $4.6 billion over ten years.
- On Aug. 10, 2012, HHS published an IFC that adopted operating rules for the health care EFT and electronic remittance advice transaction. The operating rules will save up to $4.5 billion over ten years.
More information on the final rule is available in a fact sheet at
http://www.cms.gov/apps/media/fact_sheets.asp.
The final rule may be viewed at www.ofr.gov/inspection.aspx.
|
| Physicians for Human Rights need Evaluators for Torture Victims | |
An immensely gratifying professional opportunity from Physicians for Human Rights is available to doctors in the area:
Working with individuals who have been tortured and are now looking for asylum here in the US.
Our next training is September 22 and 23 in Washington DC. CME credit is available and registration is open. Please send the link below to anyone and everyone who might be interested.
Registration for PHR's fall Asylum Trainings is now open!
Many of us find a great sense of purpose in addressing this horrific realities - seeing that our evaluations can make the difference, truly, between death and life. As challenging as it is to do this work, few endeavors generate a greater sense of shared humanity, and the heightened awareness of how we can and must help each other.
|
| And the winner is... |
The Medical Society of the District of Columbia presents our annual awards to individuals and organizations for outstanding service to the profession and the community. We have been presenting awards since 1941 and are very proud of the continued and distinguished history of these awards. We invite all MSDC members to submit nominations.
Entry Requirements
Any member of the Medical Society may submit a nomination for one or more categories. Each nomination must have a separate submission. No past winners are eligible for nomination in their previous category. Click here to receive a Nomination Form.
Deadline
All entries must be at the Medical Society by 5:00 PM on Friday, September 14, 2012. Mail entries to:
Special Awards Nominations
c/o Medical Society of DC
1250 23rd Street, NW, Suite 270
Washington, DC 20037.
Judges
The Medical Society's Board of Directors will review all nominations submitted by the deadline. The decisions of the Board will be final.
Presentation
The awards will be presented at MSDC's Annual Meeting on October 24, 2012.
Four Awards
- Certificate of Meritorious Service - Presented to a physician in recognition of distinguished service to the medical profession.
- Charles H. Epps, III Community Service Award - Presented to a physician for outstanding public service to the community.
- Distinguished Service Award - Presented to a physician member for outstanding service to the Medical Society of the District of Columbia.
- John Benjamin Nichols Award - Presented to a lay person, organization, or both, in recognition of outstanding contributions toward improving the health of the community.
Questions
Contact Ed Shanbacker at shanbacker@msdc.org for any questions you may have.
|
| Register for the "Physician Practice Survival Conference" Today! |
MSDC members are invited to attend the Physician Practice Survival Conference in Alexandria, VA, September 14-15.
The two-day Physician Practice Survival Conference brings together some of the most respected leaders in healthcare, from practicing physicians to industry executives to third-party solution providers, to examine the economic challenges that threaten the survival of independent physician practices. A full roster of healthcare thought leaders will also discuss the business models that can answer these challenges and produce long-term economic stability for physicians who wish to remain independent.
Among the featured speakers is Russell C. Libby, M.D., F.A.A.P., president-elect of the Medical Society of Virginia. He will join Ronald C. Sroka, M.D., former president of the Maryland State Medical Society, in a session titled, "A Call to Action for Independent Physicians and Small Group Practitioners." In a separate session, Dr. Libby will discuss "Adopting Change and Developing Small and Large Group Physician Alignment."
For the full agenda, speakers' bios, and registration information, visit www.PhysicianPracticeSurvival.com or call 1-800-431-7571.
|
| Strengthen Your Practice Immunization Performance |
 Primary Care Physicians are in the best position to improve adolescent and adult vaccination rates. Immunization for Flu, Pneumococcal, Shingles, and Tdap vaccines continue to fall short of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services objectives.
Fortunately, the Medical Society of DC has a strong partner in providing our members the resources and support to cost-effectively improve immunization rates, and in turn, strengthen your practice. Atlantic Health Partners, the nation's leading vaccine buying group, offers you the lowest vaccine prices and finest customer service to improve the performance of your immunization initiatives. Atlantic even has a program that enables you to provide vaccines like Zostavax (Shingles) and Adacel (Tdap) to Medicare Part D patients.
MSDC members that currently participate with Atlantic are very satisfied with the savings and support. We encourage you to contact Atlantic at 800-741-2044 or info@atlantichealthpartners.com to better determine how they can benefit your practice.
|
| Classified Ads |
Retiring Physician Seeking Family Physician to Take Over Practice
Retiring family practice physician looking for interested physician to take over practice of 25 years, DuPont Circle area. Please contact 202-365-2344
Washington DC/Bethesda Border - Spring Valley Location
Medical Office sublet available. Prime location in beautiful Spring Valley section of Northwest DC. Spacious office with 5 exam rooms. EMR with computers in all rooms. Available for full-time or part-time lease. Large convenient parking lot located behind building and plenty of additional street parking. Walking distance to Metro and Metrobus. Short distance from both Sibley Hospital and Suburban Hospital. Please call Maria at 202-237-0808 for additional details.
For Sale: Tropical/Travel Medicine Practice
Long established and nationally recognized private practice serving Washington, D.C. and surrounding areas. Includes consulting practice in tropical medicine; travel clinic seeing over 7,000-8,000 clients per year; and diagnostic parasitology laboratory. It is in an excellent central city location. This is a unique opportunity for a physician with a passion for tropical/travel medicine and infectious diseases. Send expressions of interest to: tmsdc@verizon.net
Plan Now for a Fun, Restful Vacation!
The Medical Society and Alliance Foundation (MSAF) owns a timeshare, available at The Historic Powhatan Resort, Williamsburg, VA. From September 9 to September 16, two adjoining yet distinct units, each with one bedroom and 1.5 baths, await you, family and friends. Managed by Diamond Resorts International, on-site amenities include outdoor and heated indoor swimming pools, fitness center, cycling/bike rental, fishing, tennis, racquetball, putting green/mini golf, game room, playground, restaurants, and concierge services. Housekeeping services are available. Explore nearby attractions such as Colonial Williamsburg, Historic Jamestown, wine tasting, golf, spas, antique stores, and outlet shopping. This relaxing vacation can be yours for $1200, less than $200 per day! For more information, please contact Rose Smith at (202) 466-1800.
Office Furniture for Sale
Retired Physician has office furnishings for sale. Beautiful executive desk and credenza. Reed chairs and small table. Numerous other items suitable for office or apartment. Offering reasonable price for complete lot but willing to negotiate separate items. To review, please call 301-656-6309 or 301-656-3977
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
